Marks and Spencer (M&S) is a British based retailer that is the holding company of Marks & Spencer Group (M&S Group). This company is currently the largest clothing retailer in the UK, and has held an outstanding reputation for throughout most of its 125 years of service. They offer stylish, high quality, great value clothing and home products, as well as outstanding quality foods, responsibly sourced from more than 2,000 suppliers globally.
The Marks & Spencer brand name is one of their most valuable assets because of its strong impact on customers and its innate association with high-quality and value. The success of Marks & Spencer has not come to pass without organizational issues that have since been resolved and ultimately contributed to today’s success of the company. Today, Marks & Spencer is under control of its new CEO, Marc Bolland. The company surpasses the point of societal legitimacy to an obvious extent shown by their efforts in becoming a leader in their industry through an established organizational culture and high values place that are built on socially responsible initiatives.
Marc Bolland has taken this company from a stagnant position and pulled it back into a competitive atmosphere with decisions that are critical to future of the company. Considering the company suffered a near-fatal mistake in the past having to do with the internal organization and meeting fundamental objectives, the company has capitalized on their mistakes and used them to transform in a way that exemplifies societal and economical strategic CSR standards. Marks & Spencer has undergone organizational modifications that have produced standard operational changes for the good of both their business and the organizational society. The company website displays every imaginable report needed for stakeholders of all kind and convey a high standard of transparency; a measure that is essential to sustainable CSR efforts.
The leadership abilities that Marc Bolland uses for Marks & Spencer has a penetrating effect on the company; it delves into the deepest and most meticulous points of the organization that refine and reinvigorate the M&S brand name. Marks & Spencer has already executed an array of different methods in their implementation of CSR that has already shown clear evidence of positive effects on its societal environment and to M&S itself from an economic perspective. The introduction and process of Plan A has been paramount to working with existing societal factors that exist external to the firm; these opportunities on a societal dimension have been analyzed and utilized by the company in a method that will help the company become sustainable into future operations.
Works Cited:
MarksandSpencer.com. Retrieved from http://www.marksandspencer.com/.
Written by: Michael Magaruh with inspiration from The Big Bang Bloggers
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Taking a Leap of Faith with Amazon's own Jeff Bezos
When it comes to CEO’s that have really made a difference in their organization, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com leads the list. While Jeff’s leadership style is quite unconventional, it has proven to be extremely effective as Amazon has become the leader of online e-commerce. When making decisions for the organization Jeff is typically most effective when using an intuitive decision making model process. According to the textbook an intuitive decision making model is, “arriving at decisions without conscious reasoning. The model argues that in a given situation, experts making decisions scan the environment for cues to recognize patterns (Bauer and Erdogan 265.)” Bezos is known all too well for these “leaps of faith” in which his decisions are made without any true evidence or studies to back them up. Most of these intuitive decisions are actually made on a rather large scale and don’t have the time or effort to be tested first on a smaller scale.
While some of these decisions made by Bezos have hurt the company in terms of sales and profits in the short run, Bezos is always concerned for the long term effects of the decisions on the customers. If the decision will be good for customers in the long run than it was exactly the right decision according to Bezos. This customer pleasing focused decision making concept is what has helped Jeff become as successful as he is today and has proven to truly help the company in the long run.
Bezos is constantly searching for ways to improve efficiency at Amazon, regardless of how small of a positive impact that change may have. As long the company is always increasing efficiency, than the company is heading in the right direction. However, while he does constantly search for small short-term ways to increase efficiency at Amazon’s warehouses Bezos is still committed to the sustaining the company’s long term goals of changing the world over decades.
Even though Bezos does value the importance of using creativity when coming up with decisions and new ideas, he is not afraid to use/steal other company’s creative ideas that have proven successful as well. According to the textbook creativity is referred to as, “The generation of new ideas that are original, fluent, and flexible (Bauer and Erdogan 266).” While Amazon is constantly coming up with new innovative and creative ideas they realize the importance of learning from your competitors creative ideas. In the very words of Jeff Bezos, “We watch our competitors, learn from them, see things that they were doing for customers and copy those things as much as we can.” For example, when EBay started becoming increasingly popular Amazon decided that they too needed an auction style way of selling their products. While the first attempts struggled to take flight, Bezos persistently searched for a successful auction system. Finally Amazon came up with Marketplace, where third parties could sell their goods side by side with Amazon’s own offerings using an auction style way of selling. Amazon’s copying ways have not stopped there. Similar to Google’s Froogle feature, Amazon is in the process of expanding its search capabilities to help its customers find what types of products they need to buy on other websites and compare prices.
While Amazon has gone through some extremely tough times, such as the dot come crisis, Jeff Bezos continues to be optimistic and keeps his company on track to achieve their long term goals. During a PC forum conference in 2001 Jeff gave a presentation in which he displayed a slide showing figures indicating Amazon’s stock falling from $100-a-share to a measly $6. What Bezos claimed while showing this slide was that if you think the Amazon Company is not achieving its long term goals than you’re a pessimist. After that he displayed a slide showing Amazon’s cumulative wealth since the day it went public ($1.50, split-adjusted) and that current day ($11.64). Bezos explained to the crowd that he concentrates on this aspect of the business and really concentrates his definition of a successful business on its ability to achieve long term results, rather than short term times of struggle.
Stimulating Questions to think about/dicuss:
Do you agree with Jeff’s intuitive decision making style, in which he relies on taking “leaps of faith” rather than using evidence and data to support decisions?
Do you consider Jeff promoting his employees to steal successful innovative techniques that competitors are using a breach of ethics?
With the plethora of e-commerce companies out on the web, what do you personally feel sets Amazon apart from its competitors?
Work Cited:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/85/bezos_1.html
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bez0bio-1
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=218119&ticker=AMZN:US
By: Jason Dangles
While some of these decisions made by Bezos have hurt the company in terms of sales and profits in the short run, Bezos is always concerned for the long term effects of the decisions on the customers. If the decision will be good for customers in the long run than it was exactly the right decision according to Bezos. This customer pleasing focused decision making concept is what has helped Jeff become as successful as he is today and has proven to truly help the company in the long run.
Bezos is constantly searching for ways to improve efficiency at Amazon, regardless of how small of a positive impact that change may have. As long the company is always increasing efficiency, than the company is heading in the right direction. However, while he does constantly search for small short-term ways to increase efficiency at Amazon’s warehouses Bezos is still committed to the sustaining the company’s long term goals of changing the world over decades.
Even though Bezos does value the importance of using creativity when coming up with decisions and new ideas, he is not afraid to use/steal other company’s creative ideas that have proven successful as well. According to the textbook creativity is referred to as, “The generation of new ideas that are original, fluent, and flexible (Bauer and Erdogan 266).” While Amazon is constantly coming up with new innovative and creative ideas they realize the importance of learning from your competitors creative ideas. In the very words of Jeff Bezos, “We watch our competitors, learn from them, see things that they were doing for customers and copy those things as much as we can.” For example, when EBay started becoming increasingly popular Amazon decided that they too needed an auction style way of selling their products. While the first attempts struggled to take flight, Bezos persistently searched for a successful auction system. Finally Amazon came up with Marketplace, where third parties could sell their goods side by side with Amazon’s own offerings using an auction style way of selling. Amazon’s copying ways have not stopped there. Similar to Google’s Froogle feature, Amazon is in the process of expanding its search capabilities to help its customers find what types of products they need to buy on other websites and compare prices.
While Amazon has gone through some extremely tough times, such as the dot come crisis, Jeff Bezos continues to be optimistic and keeps his company on track to achieve their long term goals. During a PC forum conference in 2001 Jeff gave a presentation in which he displayed a slide showing figures indicating Amazon’s stock falling from $100-a-share to a measly $6. What Bezos claimed while showing this slide was that if you think the Amazon Company is not achieving its long term goals than you’re a pessimist. After that he displayed a slide showing Amazon’s cumulative wealth since the day it went public ($1.50, split-adjusted) and that current day ($11.64). Bezos explained to the crowd that he concentrates on this aspect of the business and really concentrates his definition of a successful business on its ability to achieve long term results, rather than short term times of struggle.
Stimulating Questions to think about/dicuss:
Do you agree with Jeff’s intuitive decision making style, in which he relies on taking “leaps of faith” rather than using evidence and data to support decisions?
Do you consider Jeff promoting his employees to steal successful innovative techniques that competitors are using a breach of ethics?
With the plethora of e-commerce companies out on the web, what do you personally feel sets Amazon apart from its competitors?
Work Cited:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/85/bezos_1.html
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bez0bio-1
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=218119&ticker=AMZN:US
By: Jason Dangles
Leading the Market to Sustainability: Alan Mulally and Ford Motor Co.
A watchful eye has been placed on sustainability and the “green” movement nowadays where leaders that are willing to pursue this issue pertaining to their organization can get an early lead for something that is coming in the blink of an eye. Earlier posts provided by our group have focused on sustainability and what this means for business and the organizational environment. The effects that can be realized for those organizations that take early initiative in terms of implementing sustainable processes and systems into their organization will have to pay a high price in the present, but these ambitious moves will pay for themselves over and over in the mid to long-term. One company that is already well on their way to sustainability, is Ford Motor Co. led by CEO Alan Mulally.
Ford Motor Co. has undergone significant changes recently having to do with restructuring their entire lineup of vehicles while still trying to lessen their environmental footprint left behind. To add to this pivotal restructuring, it must not be forgotten that this was the only U.S. auto manufacturer out of the “big 3” (General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC., & Ford Motor Co.) that did not get bailed out by the government during the recession. While not asking for help, the company was obligated to cut their workforce substantially, cut costs, and revolutionize their strategies. All of these efforts have been led by Mulally who has been making many bold decisions where risk-taking is part of everyday procedure.
The next big step that Mulally is making within the company is trying to strengthen their competitive edge on foreign manufacturers who have already surfaced to the top in their gas-saving lineup of vehicles; Toyota being the biggest competitor in this segment. At the Detroit Auto Show that took place in early 2011, Mulally spoke about their new strategy in saying that the company’s new small-vehicle offerings are made possible by a strategic decision taken as part of the company’s recent overhaul to build 10 different compact car and crossover models using the same basis chassis, or “platform.” The organization is delving into research and design in the fuel-efficient sector and ultimately hopes to achieve increased economies of scale in regards to their hybrid and electric models in the current and near-future.
Alan Mulally has certainly been on the right path in his substantial restructuring and overhauling for Ford. His leadership style is one that not only performs for the company, but exemplifies what U.S. auto manufacturers need to produce in order to stay on the same level as the global auto market. The reach for becoming a sustainable organization has made itself one step closer for Ford because of their recent struggle. Albeit, the company still has a long road ahead of them if they plan on competing with Toyota and Honda with their lineup of smaller vehicles. Alan Mulally’s momentum in the global recession has shown to be beneficial not only for Ford and its stakeholders, but the entire global market as well.
Written by: Michael Magaruh and the Big Bang Bloggers
Works Cited:
Wall Street Journal (2011), “Detroit’s Woes Make for Better, Smaller Cars,” (Accessed April 10th, 2011).
Available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576090061509442764.html?KEYWORDS=ford+motor+company
Ford Motor Co. has undergone significant changes recently having to do with restructuring their entire lineup of vehicles while still trying to lessen their environmental footprint left behind. To add to this pivotal restructuring, it must not be forgotten that this was the only U.S. auto manufacturer out of the “big 3” (General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC., & Ford Motor Co.) that did not get bailed out by the government during the recession. While not asking for help, the company was obligated to cut their workforce substantially, cut costs, and revolutionize their strategies. All of these efforts have been led by Mulally who has been making many bold decisions where risk-taking is part of everyday procedure.
The next big step that Mulally is making within the company is trying to strengthen their competitive edge on foreign manufacturers who have already surfaced to the top in their gas-saving lineup of vehicles; Toyota being the biggest competitor in this segment. At the Detroit Auto Show that took place in early 2011, Mulally spoke about their new strategy in saying that the company’s new small-vehicle offerings are made possible by a strategic decision taken as part of the company’s recent overhaul to build 10 different compact car and crossover models using the same basis chassis, or “platform.” The organization is delving into research and design in the fuel-efficient sector and ultimately hopes to achieve increased economies of scale in regards to their hybrid and electric models in the current and near-future.
Alan Mulally has certainly been on the right path in his substantial restructuring and overhauling for Ford. His leadership style is one that not only performs for the company, but exemplifies what U.S. auto manufacturers need to produce in order to stay on the same level as the global auto market. The reach for becoming a sustainable organization has made itself one step closer for Ford because of their recent struggle. Albeit, the company still has a long road ahead of them if they plan on competing with Toyota and Honda with their lineup of smaller vehicles. Alan Mulally’s momentum in the global recession has shown to be beneficial not only for Ford and its stakeholders, but the entire global market as well.
Written by: Michael Magaruh and the Big Bang Bloggers
Works Cited:
Wall Street Journal (2011), “Detroit’s Woes Make for Better, Smaller Cars,” (Accessed April 10th, 2011).
Available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576090061509442764.html?KEYWORDS=ford+motor+company
Mark Zuckerberg: Interconnecting the World
Mark Zuckerberg is a widely recognized leader of change around the world and has clearly made a real difference in society as we know it today. In 2003, Mark founded the social networking website called Facebook, which since its establishment has experienced exponential growth. Facebook was solely created for college universities at the time so that students would be capable of easily networking with one another. However, in 2005 Mark then made the strategic decision of offering the websites services to some high schools and international schools. Several years later the website became available to virtually everyone in the world with an internet connection and is the current Facebook as we know it. These were some of the best nonprogrammed decisions Mark Zuckerberg has made from his available criteria as Facebook’s popularity rose from one million users in 2004, to over 500 million empowered users today. Mark’s popularity grew nearly as fast as his website with a recent movie being based around his life and the rise of Facebook in The Social Network, which won three Oscars. The creation of facebook.com has amounted to unsurpassed success for Mark Zuckerberg as at 26 years of age he has amassed a net worth of 6.9 billion dollars, or in translation, the 35th richest person in the United States according to Forbes. It would be flat-out erroneous to leave Mark Zuckerberg out of the Big Bang Impact Blog because of his outright success at such a young age, as well as the real difference he has made in society using his high task-oriented leadership abilities.
This success could not have been accomplished without the proper utilization of many critical theories and concepts from Organizational Behavior. These areas in which I have discovered to be most relevant in the development of Mark Zuckerberg’s role in Facebook relate to his leadership, and the decision making process. The Facebook as we know it today would not be the same if Mark did not excel in these two topical areas related to Organizational Behavior. He has demonstrated knowledge and passion to excel in these two organizational subjects, which is best described by the Washington Post as Mark Zuckerberg stated, “we really just believe in what we are doing (Frontiera).”
The formal task-oriented leader, Mark Zuckerberg, has proved to be an outstanding decision maker as this recent leader of change has not lost sight of Facebook’s long-term strategy. This long-term strategy includes taking a directive approach in structuring roles for his subordinates in an effort to perfect the social networking capabilities of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg’ task-oriented approach to leadership has proven successful, as he did not invent social networking but rather must utilize task-management in order to guide his employees to see a common value in perfecting it. I personally believe that Mark primarily exercises inspirational motivation to create a need for achievement, and affiliation in his subordinates with Facebook as he is truly a charismatic personality. This charisma, along with a high degree of task-oriented leadership, has raised the expectancy of effort and performance in which Mark seeks from his employees. Mark Zuckerberg’s charisma is evident in the fact that his rise to success and fame has come in such a limited time frame. However, Mark’s charisma is not the only motivator for his employees as he has taken an uncompromising authoritarian leadership approach to delegate specific tasks to his subordinates. The Social Network does a fantastic job of depicting this approach as Mark essentially views the human nature of his employees in the Theory X sense. During the movie Mark is persistent in motivating his friends to input their maximum effort when he first moved to Palo Alto, California in order to achieve product development goals he had set for Facebook. Leading employees in this fashion basically fulfills Mark Zuckerberg’s task-management philosophy in creating a common vision for his employees. He has consistently stuck to this vision since founding Facebook, which was tested when Mark was confronted with a one billion dollar offer to sell his company to Yahoo at the age of 22. While pondering this offer, Mark used the rational decision making model to identify the problems, establish decision criteria, generate alternates, and choose the best alternative. He then chose to implement the decision of rejecting the offer after carefully examining the decision criteria and other available alternatives. This choice has become history upon evaluating Mark’s rational decision today, as Facebook is now worth well over 50 billion dollars. Mark Zuckerberg’s decision making ability is extremely unique because thus far he has not demonstrated a framing bias in the way offers are presented to him by others. Nor has he exhibited anchoring in decision making as he has not divulged into a single piece of information when confronted with choice. Mark Zuckerberg’s combination of highly intelligent decision making ability, and utilization of task-oriented leadership for his employees has brought Facebook to historical successes in the world of social networking.
Today still may be just the early stages of Facebook’s growth as the sky is the limit with Mark Zuckerberg’s vision. He has demonstrated an outstanding ability to lead others by utilizing task-oriented leadership and exercising a decision making process which is far more mature than his age. Mark Zuckerberg’s abilities have earned him a great deal of respect around the globe as a true leader of societal change. The social networking company Facebook has aided people in discovering long lost loved ones, and has been credited as an essential medium of communication amongst groups organizing uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He is also taking a philanthropic approach to societal change in a much similar fashion to the recent trends established by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. According to the New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg donated 100 million dollars to the struggling public schools in Newark, New Jersey. This act of philanthropy in helping these once "failed" schools has revealed Mark's true concern for the good of society; while being a high self-monitor and positively representing his company's acts of corporate social responsibility. The founding of Facebook has provoked a social revolution in the world as we know it, and this dramatic change in communication would not have been accomplished without the charismatic leadership of Mark Zuckerberg.
Do you believe that Facebook is still in the growth stage of success, or is the website about to reach its peak? Should Mark Zuckerberg also reach out to other recent leaders of change, such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates or Google’s Sergey Brin, for further guidance related to leading or operating the successful website of Facebook? Is there any other social networking websites which you believe could compete with Facebook and reach their level of success in the future?
Works Cited:
A&E Television Networks (2011), “Mark Zuckerberg Biography,” (Accessed April 9, 2011), [available at http://www.biography.com/articles/Mark-Zuckerberg-507402]
Joe Fronteria, Washington Post (July 25, 2010), “Facebook’s Leadership: Dissecting Mark Zuckerberg,” (Accessed April 9, 2011) [http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/07/facebooks-leadership-dissecting-mark-zuckerberg.html]
Richard Perez-Pena, New York Times (September 22, 2010), "Facebook Founder to Donate $100 Million to Help Remake Newark’s Schools," (Accessed April 9, 2011) [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/education/23newark.html]
Written by: Zach Seibel
This success could not have been accomplished without the proper utilization of many critical theories and concepts from Organizational Behavior. These areas in which I have discovered to be most relevant in the development of Mark Zuckerberg’s role in Facebook relate to his leadership, and the decision making process. The Facebook as we know it today would not be the same if Mark did not excel in these two topical areas related to Organizational Behavior. He has demonstrated knowledge and passion to excel in these two organizational subjects, which is best described by the Washington Post as Mark Zuckerberg stated, “we really just believe in what we are doing (Frontiera).”
The formal task-oriented leader, Mark Zuckerberg, has proved to be an outstanding decision maker as this recent leader of change has not lost sight of Facebook’s long-term strategy. This long-term strategy includes taking a directive approach in structuring roles for his subordinates in an effort to perfect the social networking capabilities of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg’ task-oriented approach to leadership has proven successful, as he did not invent social networking but rather must utilize task-management in order to guide his employees to see a common value in perfecting it. I personally believe that Mark primarily exercises inspirational motivation to create a need for achievement, and affiliation in his subordinates with Facebook as he is truly a charismatic personality. This charisma, along with a high degree of task-oriented leadership, has raised the expectancy of effort and performance in which Mark seeks from his employees. Mark Zuckerberg’s charisma is evident in the fact that his rise to success and fame has come in such a limited time frame. However, Mark’s charisma is not the only motivator for his employees as he has taken an uncompromising authoritarian leadership approach to delegate specific tasks to his subordinates. The Social Network does a fantastic job of depicting this approach as Mark essentially views the human nature of his employees in the Theory X sense. During the movie Mark is persistent in motivating his friends to input their maximum effort when he first moved to Palo Alto, California in order to achieve product development goals he had set for Facebook. Leading employees in this fashion basically fulfills Mark Zuckerberg’s task-management philosophy in creating a common vision for his employees. He has consistently stuck to this vision since founding Facebook, which was tested when Mark was confronted with a one billion dollar offer to sell his company to Yahoo at the age of 22. While pondering this offer, Mark used the rational decision making model to identify the problems, establish decision criteria, generate alternates, and choose the best alternative. He then chose to implement the decision of rejecting the offer after carefully examining the decision criteria and other available alternatives. This choice has become history upon evaluating Mark’s rational decision today, as Facebook is now worth well over 50 billion dollars. Mark Zuckerberg’s decision making ability is extremely unique because thus far he has not demonstrated a framing bias in the way offers are presented to him by others. Nor has he exhibited anchoring in decision making as he has not divulged into a single piece of information when confronted with choice. Mark Zuckerberg’s combination of highly intelligent decision making ability, and utilization of task-oriented leadership for his employees has brought Facebook to historical successes in the world of social networking.
Today still may be just the early stages of Facebook’s growth as the sky is the limit with Mark Zuckerberg’s vision. He has demonstrated an outstanding ability to lead others by utilizing task-oriented leadership and exercising a decision making process which is far more mature than his age. Mark Zuckerberg’s abilities have earned him a great deal of respect around the globe as a true leader of societal change. The social networking company Facebook has aided people in discovering long lost loved ones, and has been credited as an essential medium of communication amongst groups organizing uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. He is also taking a philanthropic approach to societal change in a much similar fashion to the recent trends established by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. According to the New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg donated 100 million dollars to the struggling public schools in Newark, New Jersey. This act of philanthropy in helping these once "failed" schools has revealed Mark's true concern for the good of society; while being a high self-monitor and positively representing his company's acts of corporate social responsibility. The founding of Facebook has provoked a social revolution in the world as we know it, and this dramatic change in communication would not have been accomplished without the charismatic leadership of Mark Zuckerberg.
Do you believe that Facebook is still in the growth stage of success, or is the website about to reach its peak? Should Mark Zuckerberg also reach out to other recent leaders of change, such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates or Google’s Sergey Brin, for further guidance related to leading or operating the successful website of Facebook? Is there any other social networking websites which you believe could compete with Facebook and reach their level of success in the future?
Works Cited:
A&E Television Networks (2011), “Mark Zuckerberg Biography,” (Accessed April 9, 2011), [available at http://www.biography.com/articles/Mark-Zuckerberg-507402]
Joe Fronteria, Washington Post (July 25, 2010), “Facebook’s Leadership: Dissecting Mark Zuckerberg,” (Accessed April 9, 2011) [http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/leadership_playlist/2010/07/facebooks-leadership-dissecting-mark-zuckerberg.html]
Richard Perez-Pena, New York Times (September 22, 2010), "Facebook Founder to Donate $100 Million to Help Remake Newark’s Schools," (Accessed April 9, 2011) [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/education/23newark.html]
Written by: Zach Seibel
William McDonough and Michael Braungart: The Next Industrial Revolution
Before you simply scroll down and gasp at the length of this post, I implore you to consider something. You could pass over this short novel in favor of commenting on shorter post. Of course, it is much easier for you to summarize and say yes or no to a short post. However, I hope you will read at least part of my writing here. The first half deals with an amazing company and the surprising work they have done that questions the laws of business and our preconceptions about possibility. The second portion deals with some course concepts we have covered. I know you will take something away from this post, so I hope you invest just five minutes in this article. You could do it during the TV commercials or while you are checking your facebook. If you manage to make it to the end and find something interesting enough to comment on, I promise I will return the favor. (Be sure to include your team's title in your signature. Also, please try to comment before midnight on the due date so that I can actually read your posts!)
This Dynamic Duo is a fascinating partnership. McDonough is an American architect who has extensive experience in the realm of sustainability. He started redesigning buildings for several clients and founded his own company. When met Michael Braungart, the direction of his work would soon change and he started to make a significant impact on the world. Michael is a German chemist who was an activist for a movement called Greenpeace. They now work together to bring innovation and the environment together in architecture. Together, they founded McDonough Braungart design Chemistry (MBDC). As with most of the leaders that I have written about, I cannot do these two brilliant men justice in a single blog post. Since the semester is winding down, I will only touch on a couple of their key concepts and direct you to a couple information-rich locations to learn more about them at your own discretion.
The environment is at the center of MBDC’s work. One concept that they struggled with early on was eco-efficiency. Since the time of Henry Ford, efficiency has always been the name of the game as it relates to the environment. Companies need to squeeze more utility out of every resource, worker, and hour. Eco-efficiency aims to release less toxic waste into the environment, create fewer dangerous waste materials, and bury less garbage in the ground. The world has operated on these principles for many years, until McDonough and Braungart came along. They argue that eco-efficiency is not enough. It is not a long term solution to a serious problem. Instead, they proposed a model of eco-effectiveness. In this system, we do not focus on reducing waste. MBDC suggests that we completely eliminate the concept of waste.
To move towards eco-effectiveness, MBDC introduced the simple yet powerful equation: Waste = Food. When left untouched, nature recycles everything. When something dies, it is reabsorbed back into the system as nutrients for something else. Whether a predator catches its prey or a tree falls in the forest, everything becomes an input in the system. MBDC thought that the best model for creating products and buildings is the tree. A tree creates and sustains life for everything around it. And once it dies, it nourishes its environment so that the process can be repeated. MBDC transferred this cycle into our world. Braungart uses the terms biological and technical nutrients. Biological nutrients are raw materials used by other living organisms to carry on life processes. This includes food waste and other materials that could be broken down by the environment somehow. Technical nutrients are materials that humans create which can be continuously put back into production. This is where recycling and upcycling occurs (Upcycling is the practice of recycling materials in a way that it maintains and/or accrues value over time, as opposed to downcycling).
By putting nature’s ways into practice, we can ensure that an endless cycle of sustainable production is created. McDonough and Braungart are famous for their “Cradle to Cradle” model. In this model, materials are cycled continuously through two separate cycles. All technical nutrients will be put back into production to create new products and all biological nutrients will be processed so that the environment is benefited.
To many, this sounds far-fetched and unrealistic. In fact I was one of them. I am a strong believer in capitalism and the corporate structures. However, after taking MQM 385 with Fitzgibbons, my eyes have been opened to a whole new world. I now know that these practices are not only good for the environment, but they are also good for business. And for those who still need convincing, there is a plethora of evidence out there. As for MBDC and their outlandish claims, they have actually achieved this level of success on a number of occasions.
The Rouge River Ford Motor Company complex was renovated under the watchful eye of McDonough. This is an excerpt from the plant’s website: “The Ford Rouge Factory Tour is among 2100 new structures that have won the coveted award since 2000. From the tour’s observation deck, you can see the 10.4-acre “living roof”. It’s actually tens of thousands of tiny sedum plants that decrease energy consumption by 7 percent and improve air quality by as much as 40 percent. The roof is also a central component of an $18 million rainwater treatment system capable of cleaning up to 20 billion gallons of water every year. And scores of energy-efficient skylights and light monitors permit the plant to provide full illumination while shutting off as much as 50 percent of its artificial illumination. And the roof is only one of many elements in an elaborate industrial eco-system that is architecturally inspired as much as it is technologically ahead of its time.”
This roof helps Ford save around $50 million every year. MBDC has used this same concept to help people in China. As you know, over population is a serious problem in some parts of China. The Chinese government asked MBDC to help address the problem of insufficient room for housing and farming. The solution: MBDC designed entire cities that built sustainable houses that required little energy to operate. In addition to eco-friendly materials and technology, they also were able to build mini rice farms on the rooftops of these houses. This allowed people to both live in and plant on the same exact location.
The concepts and ideas I have described above are the things that McDonough and Braungart believe will transform the future. Just as technological and manufacturing breakthroughs in the past altered the course of history, so too will this new change in ideology. This is the New Industrial Revolution that MBDC has brought about.
There are many more success stories I want to get to, but I’m sure you’re tired of reading my post by this point. Unfortunately, I need to stop telling you about what they do and start telling you about what they do. Translation: less stories and more course concepts.
Clearly, McDonough and Braungart are visionaries. One of the most recent concepts we covered involved decision making. These men have made outstanding strategic decisions. They have challenged the “business as we know it” model and created an entirely new way of doing things. By thinking outside the box, they have significantly impacted others in the business community. Manufacturers from all over the world are changing their processes and practices after working with these inspirational leaders. These strategic decisions were coupled with tactical and, surprisingly, operational decisions as well. While McDonough brings several strategic ideas to the table, Braungart brings the ideas to life. His expertise in chemistry and biology help get the ideas from the drawing board to real life. In this aspect, he is displaying his roles as both a contributor and a completer. They are not interested in only creating lofty hypothetical ideals. But rather, they want to bring their concepts to life by actually creating innovative solutions.
This line of communication also leads us to my next point. MBDC obviously makes creative decisions. The three main factors in the creative decision making process are fluency, flexibility, and originality. Fluency refers to the number of ideas a person is able to generate. Although I have not provided enough examples here, they have created several ideas. You don’t have to take my word for it. You can search for the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies or their work with Nike, Nestle, Pepsi, Volvo or any of the 104 clients listed on MBDC’s client list page.
McDonough and Braungart also have amazing flexibility. They are not a “cookie cutter” company that uses the same tactics in every situation. The consulting group analyzes every individual client as a separate opportunity with different possibilities. They have helped countless clients address a wide variety of issues ranging from solar, wind, and hydroelectric power sources to water treatment, living roof, and negative emissions building solutions (negative emissions refers to a practice that purifies the facility’s water and emissions, as well as its immediate environment. This actually creates negative emissions because it creates no waste and purifies surrounding waste.).
MBDC’s Originality cannot be questioned. Each of the ideas they come up with is entirely unique compared to the traditional business model. They have conceived and actually built things that many of us have never even dreamed of. Plants and gardens growing on the roof, negative emissions, complete energy sustainability? This is the reality that MBDC has created.
Congratulations to those who managed to survive until the end! I hope it was worth your time. I apologize again for the ridiculous length of this post and I promise I will never make one like it again. I just feel very passionate about the things that these amazing people have developed and wanted to share some of their work with you. If you are interested in learning more about MBDC or its founders, I encourage you to explore the following links. One is an article that introduces McDonough and Braungart’s groundbreaking beliefs. Another link is a Youtube video. It is Part 1 of a series of interviews with the founders of MBDC. You can cycle through them as you wish, or simply Google MBDC or either one of the founders. I also included a list of their clients to reinforce my claim concerning MBDC's fluency issues. William McDonough and Michael Braungart are amazing leaders who have shown an exceptional level of creativeness, expertise, and passion to change the world by questioning the traditional business model and pushing the boundaries of possibility.
MBDC key concepts:
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/98oct/industry.htm
Interviews with the founders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkoOnJmVB6Q
Client list:
http://www.mbdc.com/clientlist.aspx?linkid=4&sublink=14
Regards,
Jarek Palmer
(Big Bang Bloggers)
This Dynamic Duo is a fascinating partnership. McDonough is an American architect who has extensive experience in the realm of sustainability. He started redesigning buildings for several clients and founded his own company. When met Michael Braungart, the direction of his work would soon change and he started to make a significant impact on the world. Michael is a German chemist who was an activist for a movement called Greenpeace. They now work together to bring innovation and the environment together in architecture. Together, they founded McDonough Braungart design Chemistry (MBDC). As with most of the leaders that I have written about, I cannot do these two brilliant men justice in a single blog post. Since the semester is winding down, I will only touch on a couple of their key concepts and direct you to a couple information-rich locations to learn more about them at your own discretion.
The environment is at the center of MBDC’s work. One concept that they struggled with early on was eco-efficiency. Since the time of Henry Ford, efficiency has always been the name of the game as it relates to the environment. Companies need to squeeze more utility out of every resource, worker, and hour. Eco-efficiency aims to release less toxic waste into the environment, create fewer dangerous waste materials, and bury less garbage in the ground. The world has operated on these principles for many years, until McDonough and Braungart came along. They argue that eco-efficiency is not enough. It is not a long term solution to a serious problem. Instead, they proposed a model of eco-effectiveness. In this system, we do not focus on reducing waste. MBDC suggests that we completely eliminate the concept of waste.
To move towards eco-effectiveness, MBDC introduced the simple yet powerful equation: Waste = Food. When left untouched, nature recycles everything. When something dies, it is reabsorbed back into the system as nutrients for something else. Whether a predator catches its prey or a tree falls in the forest, everything becomes an input in the system. MBDC thought that the best model for creating products and buildings is the tree. A tree creates and sustains life for everything around it. And once it dies, it nourishes its environment so that the process can be repeated. MBDC transferred this cycle into our world. Braungart uses the terms biological and technical nutrients. Biological nutrients are raw materials used by other living organisms to carry on life processes. This includes food waste and other materials that could be broken down by the environment somehow. Technical nutrients are materials that humans create which can be continuously put back into production. This is where recycling and upcycling occurs (Upcycling is the practice of recycling materials in a way that it maintains and/or accrues value over time, as opposed to downcycling).
By putting nature’s ways into practice, we can ensure that an endless cycle of sustainable production is created. McDonough and Braungart are famous for their “Cradle to Cradle” model. In this model, materials are cycled continuously through two separate cycles. All technical nutrients will be put back into production to create new products and all biological nutrients will be processed so that the environment is benefited.
To many, this sounds far-fetched and unrealistic. In fact I was one of them. I am a strong believer in capitalism and the corporate structures. However, after taking MQM 385 with Fitzgibbons, my eyes have been opened to a whole new world. I now know that these practices are not only good for the environment, but they are also good for business. And for those who still need convincing, there is a plethora of evidence out there. As for MBDC and their outlandish claims, they have actually achieved this level of success on a number of occasions.
The Rouge River Ford Motor Company complex was renovated under the watchful eye of McDonough. This is an excerpt from the plant’s website: “The Ford Rouge Factory Tour is among 2100 new structures that have won the coveted award since 2000. From the tour’s observation deck, you can see the 10.4-acre “living roof”. It’s actually tens of thousands of tiny sedum plants that decrease energy consumption by 7 percent and improve air quality by as much as 40 percent. The roof is also a central component of an $18 million rainwater treatment system capable of cleaning up to 20 billion gallons of water every year. And scores of energy-efficient skylights and light monitors permit the plant to provide full illumination while shutting off as much as 50 percent of its artificial illumination. And the roof is only one of many elements in an elaborate industrial eco-system that is architecturally inspired as much as it is technologically ahead of its time.”
This roof helps Ford save around $50 million every year. MBDC has used this same concept to help people in China. As you know, over population is a serious problem in some parts of China. The Chinese government asked MBDC to help address the problem of insufficient room for housing and farming. The solution: MBDC designed entire cities that built sustainable houses that required little energy to operate. In addition to eco-friendly materials and technology, they also were able to build mini rice farms on the rooftops of these houses. This allowed people to both live in and plant on the same exact location.
The concepts and ideas I have described above are the things that McDonough and Braungart believe will transform the future. Just as technological and manufacturing breakthroughs in the past altered the course of history, so too will this new change in ideology. This is the New Industrial Revolution that MBDC has brought about.
There are many more success stories I want to get to, but I’m sure you’re tired of reading my post by this point. Unfortunately, I need to stop telling you about what they do and start telling you about what they do. Translation: less stories and more course concepts.
Clearly, McDonough and Braungart are visionaries. One of the most recent concepts we covered involved decision making. These men have made outstanding strategic decisions. They have challenged the “business as we know it” model and created an entirely new way of doing things. By thinking outside the box, they have significantly impacted others in the business community. Manufacturers from all over the world are changing their processes and practices after working with these inspirational leaders. These strategic decisions were coupled with tactical and, surprisingly, operational decisions as well. While McDonough brings several strategic ideas to the table, Braungart brings the ideas to life. His expertise in chemistry and biology help get the ideas from the drawing board to real life. In this aspect, he is displaying his roles as both a contributor and a completer. They are not interested in only creating lofty hypothetical ideals. But rather, they want to bring their concepts to life by actually creating innovative solutions.
This line of communication also leads us to my next point. MBDC obviously makes creative decisions. The three main factors in the creative decision making process are fluency, flexibility, and originality. Fluency refers to the number of ideas a person is able to generate. Although I have not provided enough examples here, they have created several ideas. You don’t have to take my word for it. You can search for the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies or their work with Nike, Nestle, Pepsi, Volvo or any of the 104 clients listed on MBDC’s client list page.
McDonough and Braungart also have amazing flexibility. They are not a “cookie cutter” company that uses the same tactics in every situation. The consulting group analyzes every individual client as a separate opportunity with different possibilities. They have helped countless clients address a wide variety of issues ranging from solar, wind, and hydroelectric power sources to water treatment, living roof, and negative emissions building solutions (negative emissions refers to a practice that purifies the facility’s water and emissions, as well as its immediate environment. This actually creates negative emissions because it creates no waste and purifies surrounding waste.).
MBDC’s Originality cannot be questioned. Each of the ideas they come up with is entirely unique compared to the traditional business model. They have conceived and actually built things that many of us have never even dreamed of. Plants and gardens growing on the roof, negative emissions, complete energy sustainability? This is the reality that MBDC has created.
Congratulations to those who managed to survive until the end! I hope it was worth your time. I apologize again for the ridiculous length of this post and I promise I will never make one like it again. I just feel very passionate about the things that these amazing people have developed and wanted to share some of their work with you. If you are interested in learning more about MBDC or its founders, I encourage you to explore the following links. One is an article that introduces McDonough and Braungart’s groundbreaking beliefs. Another link is a Youtube video. It is Part 1 of a series of interviews with the founders of MBDC. You can cycle through them as you wish, or simply Google MBDC or either one of the founders. I also included a list of their clients to reinforce my claim concerning MBDC's fluency issues. William McDonough and Michael Braungart are amazing leaders who have shown an exceptional level of creativeness, expertise, and passion to change the world by questioning the traditional business model and pushing the boundaries of possibility.
MBDC key concepts:
http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/98oct/industry.htm
Interviews with the founders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkoOnJmVB6Q
Client list:
http://www.mbdc.com/clientlist.aspx?linkid=4&sublink=14
Regards,
Jarek Palmer
(Big Bang Bloggers)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Meg Whitman’s Successful Leadership Style
We are currently talking about the different types of leadership styles that work within organizations. These styles that are mentioned in the Path Goal Theory of Leadership are directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-orientated. Some people believe you have to be born with the necessary traits to become a successful leader but this isn’t necessarily true. Yes, some of the traits of a leader are difficult to enhance or change if your personality doesn’t fit. This doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful leader if you don’t possess all of these traits. There are numerous amounts of leaders that have developed leadership skills throughout their lives.
Meg Whitman, CEO of EBay, started her career by learning from numerous companies. She was often the new employee in many organizations. She began her career in brand management at Proctor & Gamble. This is where she learned the very valuable listen that customers come first. Then, Whitman went on to be a business management consultant for Bain. Bain was a decentralized environment. Meg Whitman learned that collaborating with others is a better way to get things done then controlling your employees. All of these experiences helped Whitman acquire these valuable traits of listening, learning, collaboration, and building relationships. She learned that one must influence people to be a successful leader.
Meg Whitman took these valuable lessons that she learned and put them into affect at EBay. She became the CEO of EBay in 1988. Revenue has grown from 5.7 million to 4.7 billion in 2005.
You may ask yourself how has she done this?
Meg Whitman is a firm believer in influencing relationships with her employees and not controlling them. There are three leadership strands that Whitman uses at her job as CEO of EBay. First, she realizes she cannot control the buyers and sellers of EBay. Second, Whitman feels that people are basically good, so trust them. This shows us that Whitman is a supportive leader. One who emotionally supports her employees and treats them with care and respect. Whitman says, "Our Company is built and managed on validation.” Third, don’t assume that you know everything. Whitman is also a participative leader. She listens and lets her employee’s voice there say in meetings and important decisions within the company. Whitman also believes you must travel and learn from different countries. You can never learn too much. Meg Whitman is a very knowledgeable leader.
Meg Whitman is a prime example of a leader that developed her leadership traits throughout her career to become a successful leader in one of the top companies in the world. Meg Whitman was a very charismatic leader who used her influenced others rather than forcing them to come to work every day. Therefore; Meg Whitman is a well respected leader of eBay.
If you were to become a successful leader in the future, what qualities would you possess and what type of leadership style would you likely portray to your employees?
Posted By: Mitchell Terry
www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/.../31whitman.htm
www.associatedcontent.com
Meg Whitman, CEO of EBay, started her career by learning from numerous companies. She was often the new employee in many organizations. She began her career in brand management at Proctor & Gamble. This is where she learned the very valuable listen that customers come first. Then, Whitman went on to be a business management consultant for Bain. Bain was a decentralized environment. Meg Whitman learned that collaborating with others is a better way to get things done then controlling your employees. All of these experiences helped Whitman acquire these valuable traits of listening, learning, collaboration, and building relationships. She learned that one must influence people to be a successful leader.
Meg Whitman took these valuable lessons that she learned and put them into affect at EBay. She became the CEO of EBay in 1988. Revenue has grown from 5.7 million to 4.7 billion in 2005.
You may ask yourself how has she done this?
Meg Whitman is a firm believer in influencing relationships with her employees and not controlling them. There are three leadership strands that Whitman uses at her job as CEO of EBay. First, she realizes she cannot control the buyers and sellers of EBay. Second, Whitman feels that people are basically good, so trust them. This shows us that Whitman is a supportive leader. One who emotionally supports her employees and treats them with care and respect. Whitman says, "Our Company is built and managed on validation.” Third, don’t assume that you know everything. Whitman is also a participative leader. She listens and lets her employee’s voice there say in meetings and important decisions within the company. Whitman also believes you must travel and learn from different countries. You can never learn too much. Meg Whitman is a very knowledgeable leader.
Meg Whitman is a prime example of a leader that developed her leadership traits throughout her career to become a successful leader in one of the top companies in the world. Meg Whitman was a very charismatic leader who used her influenced others rather than forcing them to come to work every day. Therefore; Meg Whitman is a well respected leader of eBay.
If you were to become a successful leader in the future, what qualities would you possess and what type of leadership style would you likely portray to your employees?
Posted By: Mitchell Terry
www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/.../31whitman.htm
www.associatedcontent.com
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Big Bang Spotlight: Yvon Chouinard
Yvon Chouinard is the founder of a company called Patagonia. The company primarily deals with outdoor gear, equipment and clothing. Although in recent years, they have expanded into new markets. He has a truly interesting biography that is sure to catch the attention of many. I have posted the link below that I used to find my most of my information. You may explore the link and see the amazing success story for yourself. Unfortunately, it is a rather long article. Fortune does an excellent job chronicling the life of how an explorer became an executive. Again, it is rather interesting, and you may enjoy reading it on your own time.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/02/8403423/index.htm
However, I would like to discuss a few of the more important concepts that are materially relevant to us. These topics include: ethics, motivational theory and how it impacts performance, designing a motivating work environment, and decision making. Yvon is a fantastic leader that has several characteristics that set him apart from other leadership figureheads. Unfortunately, we will not have enough time to discuss these intricacies. Regardless of time constraints, we will begin by addressing ethics.
In an attempt to avoid covering another group’s subject matter, I will be brief in my discussion of ethics. Yvon Chouinard is a business man who seems to have “figured it out.” He understood that business was not just about making money. He didn’t want the pursuit of endless growth to become his main concern. He wanted to serve the needs of his customers. Yvon knew that if he did things the right way, the profits would come. He also knew that profits could be attained legally and ethically. Chouinard was not interested in cutting corners, making “shady” business deals, or selling his soul to increase revenues. True to the explorer within him, he believed that “reaching the summit had nothing to do with where you arrived and everything to do with how you got there.” Many think that business ethics is common sense, and that it’s not a worthy attribute that sets leaders apart. If this were the case, why are so many frauds still exposed today? These ethics “beacons of hope” serve as a reminder that success can be achieved by playing by the rules.
Although Yvon Chouinard does not specifically address this issue, he has also paid close attention to the motivation of his employees. In chapter 5 we learned about the various theories of motivation. One of the needs based theories is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Yvon clearly meets his employees’ lower level needs through the salaries they receive and the safe working conditions he has provided to them. He also succeeds in satisfying the social needs of his workers by providing extensive opportunities to socialize. Daycare centers are also made available so that bonds with children can be maintained and strengthened. Esteem needs practically take care of themselves. Workers believe that they are doing meaningful work. Their love for the company and its purpose creates a strong bond that unites and empowers each individual. Therefore, each employee feels more important, respected, and appreciated. Patagonia does an excellent job meeting self-actualization needs. Patagonia receives multitudes of applications every year. The people who apply to Patagonia legitimately want to come to the company to make an impact on the world. The company offers all the resources and accommodations necessary to create ingenious and revolutionary products. Employees want to be all that they can be, both professionally and personally. At Patagonia, they have the ability to achieve personal goals in addition to developing their career. As a result of Yvon’s actions, his employees have high morale and perform at impressive levels.
In chapter 6, we discussed how managers can design a motivating work environment. Patagonia is arguably one of the most motivating work environments the business world can offer. Imagine being able to take breaks to surf the next big wave. Think about “testing” equipment while hiking in the mountains. Try to picture experiencing the latest outdoor gear while camping. These are outlandish things that actually happen. Chouinard enjoys life and wants his people to enjoy life as well. While these are amazing things, Yvon does address issues that are pertinent to what we have discussed in class. By further researching the company, I have found that Yvon uses job enrichment to get his employees more engaged in their work. By having more control and freedom in the creation process, they experience more productivity and creativity.
Employees have strong task significance because they feel that their work affects many people. Not only does it affect their fellow co-workers, their work also affects the general public. Employees understand that they are creating quality products that end users will experience and enjoy. Throughout the process, the company stays true to Yvon Chouinard’s focus on sustainability. Employees also know that the environment is a stakeholder that must be catered to. Each product is carefully designed while considering the environmental impact it may have. In short, employees realize that the work they do is important.
Although we have yet to cover Chapter 11, Yvon provides a glimpse into the future of decision making. He has always had a vision of a business world that operates efficiently and cohesively with the biological world. In his campaign to bring harmony to the earth, Yvon has made substantial progress in the area of sustainability. He has taken the “green” concept to another level by implementing sustainability aspects in every level of the organization. As we will learn, there are multiple types of decisions that need to be made in an organization. Yvon deals primarily with strategic decisions. He is a visionary. He has developed concepts that he believes will take the company and the world to a better place. During his journey, he has explored new products, different methods of product transportation, unique product enhancements, and intuitive business processes. He continues to deal with new product lines. Patagonia is beginning to enter the surfing market. While Patagonia is deeply entrenched in the hiking, outdoors, and generally cold environments, Yvon sees an opportunity on the horizon, "We're getting into the surf market, because it's never going to snow again, and the waves are going to get bigger and bigger." While I do not want to spoil the surprise for those who have not read Chapter 11 yet, I assure you that Yvon Chouinard is an exceptional leader that has used his visionary mentality and excellent decision making abilities to propel himself to the top of the food chain.
I wish I could talk more about Yvon Chouinard, yet time will not allow it. I have posted links to relatively short video clips that help paint a more complete picture of Yvon and Patagonia. His influence in the world of business is already becoming visible. He has begun mentoring the corporate giant Walmart. Chouinard has provided the company with invaluable insights and Walmart has actually modeled its own sustainability plans with Yvon’s help and guidance. Yvon Chouinard has proven that he truly is a “Big Bang” mover.
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/tom-foster/fosters-blog/patagonia-founder-yvon-chouinard-and-tom-brokaw-talk-green-marketing-vi (2:39)
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/tom-foster/fosters-blog/can-wal-mart-be-sustainable-ask-patagonia-founder-yvon-chouinard (2:01)
Regards,
Jarek Palmer
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/02/8403423/index.htm
However, I would like to discuss a few of the more important concepts that are materially relevant to us. These topics include: ethics, motivational theory and how it impacts performance, designing a motivating work environment, and decision making. Yvon is a fantastic leader that has several characteristics that set him apart from other leadership figureheads. Unfortunately, we will not have enough time to discuss these intricacies. Regardless of time constraints, we will begin by addressing ethics.
In an attempt to avoid covering another group’s subject matter, I will be brief in my discussion of ethics. Yvon Chouinard is a business man who seems to have “figured it out.” He understood that business was not just about making money. He didn’t want the pursuit of endless growth to become his main concern. He wanted to serve the needs of his customers. Yvon knew that if he did things the right way, the profits would come. He also knew that profits could be attained legally and ethically. Chouinard was not interested in cutting corners, making “shady” business deals, or selling his soul to increase revenues. True to the explorer within him, he believed that “reaching the summit had nothing to do with where you arrived and everything to do with how you got there.” Many think that business ethics is common sense, and that it’s not a worthy attribute that sets leaders apart. If this were the case, why are so many frauds still exposed today? These ethics “beacons of hope” serve as a reminder that success can be achieved by playing by the rules.
Although Yvon Chouinard does not specifically address this issue, he has also paid close attention to the motivation of his employees. In chapter 5 we learned about the various theories of motivation. One of the needs based theories is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Yvon clearly meets his employees’ lower level needs through the salaries they receive and the safe working conditions he has provided to them. He also succeeds in satisfying the social needs of his workers by providing extensive opportunities to socialize. Daycare centers are also made available so that bonds with children can be maintained and strengthened. Esteem needs practically take care of themselves. Workers believe that they are doing meaningful work. Their love for the company and its purpose creates a strong bond that unites and empowers each individual. Therefore, each employee feels more important, respected, and appreciated. Patagonia does an excellent job meeting self-actualization needs. Patagonia receives multitudes of applications every year. The people who apply to Patagonia legitimately want to come to the company to make an impact on the world. The company offers all the resources and accommodations necessary to create ingenious and revolutionary products. Employees want to be all that they can be, both professionally and personally. At Patagonia, they have the ability to achieve personal goals in addition to developing their career. As a result of Yvon’s actions, his employees have high morale and perform at impressive levels.
In chapter 6, we discussed how managers can design a motivating work environment. Patagonia is arguably one of the most motivating work environments the business world can offer. Imagine being able to take breaks to surf the next big wave. Think about “testing” equipment while hiking in the mountains. Try to picture experiencing the latest outdoor gear while camping. These are outlandish things that actually happen. Chouinard enjoys life and wants his people to enjoy life as well. While these are amazing things, Yvon does address issues that are pertinent to what we have discussed in class. By further researching the company, I have found that Yvon uses job enrichment to get his employees more engaged in their work. By having more control and freedom in the creation process, they experience more productivity and creativity.
Employees have strong task significance because they feel that their work affects many people. Not only does it affect their fellow co-workers, their work also affects the general public. Employees understand that they are creating quality products that end users will experience and enjoy. Throughout the process, the company stays true to Yvon Chouinard’s focus on sustainability. Employees also know that the environment is a stakeholder that must be catered to. Each product is carefully designed while considering the environmental impact it may have. In short, employees realize that the work they do is important.
Although we have yet to cover Chapter 11, Yvon provides a glimpse into the future of decision making. He has always had a vision of a business world that operates efficiently and cohesively with the biological world. In his campaign to bring harmony to the earth, Yvon has made substantial progress in the area of sustainability. He has taken the “green” concept to another level by implementing sustainability aspects in every level of the organization. As we will learn, there are multiple types of decisions that need to be made in an organization. Yvon deals primarily with strategic decisions. He is a visionary. He has developed concepts that he believes will take the company and the world to a better place. During his journey, he has explored new products, different methods of product transportation, unique product enhancements, and intuitive business processes. He continues to deal with new product lines. Patagonia is beginning to enter the surfing market. While Patagonia is deeply entrenched in the hiking, outdoors, and generally cold environments, Yvon sees an opportunity on the horizon, "We're getting into the surf market, because it's never going to snow again, and the waves are going to get bigger and bigger." While I do not want to spoil the surprise for those who have not read Chapter 11 yet, I assure you that Yvon Chouinard is an exceptional leader that has used his visionary mentality and excellent decision making abilities to propel himself to the top of the food chain.
I wish I could talk more about Yvon Chouinard, yet time will not allow it. I have posted links to relatively short video clips that help paint a more complete picture of Yvon and Patagonia. His influence in the world of business is already becoming visible. He has begun mentoring the corporate giant Walmart. Chouinard has provided the company with invaluable insights and Walmart has actually modeled its own sustainability plans with Yvon’s help and guidance. Yvon Chouinard has proven that he truly is a “Big Bang” mover.
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/tom-foster/fosters-blog/patagonia-founder-yvon-chouinard-and-tom-brokaw-talk-green-marketing-vi (2:39)
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/tom-foster/fosters-blog/can-wal-mart-be-sustainable-ask-patagonia-founder-yvon-chouinard (2:01)
Regards,
Jarek Palmer
Following Big Footsteps with GE's Jeff Immelt
In my next series of post’s I will be concentrating on GE’s current CEO Jeff Immelt. Jeff had an incredible task of taking over the very successful General Electric Co. after one of the most successful CEO’s of General Electric’s history decided to call it quits. While some thought that Jeff would buckle under the pressure and not be able to perform at the same standards as the previous CEO, John F. Welch, Jeff proved all the skeptics wrong. In contrast to the previous CEO’s style of leading, Jeff is a much nicer, easy going guy that leads in a completely different style then Welch. According to a business week article by Diane Brady, Jeff’s communication style is described as, “Where Welch poked, prodded, and deployed his troops as if they were heading off to war, Immelt cheers them on as if they’re the home team before a big game.” Jeff really runs the entire GE corporation as more of a team, rather than acting as a dictator. The article explains that Jeff will never use the I-word, but rather always uses words such as “we,” or “the team.” As we discussed in MQM 221 class the other day, a team is considered more of a group people with complementary skills, who are committed to a mission, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. This is exactly how Jeff Immelt has decided to run the company as he stresses a coordinated interdependence of all individuals from different departments lowest to highest. Jeff stresses this interdependence of departments by making people his priority, especially concentrating on the ones that aren’t currently getting enough attention.
Since Jeff Immelt refers to the GE Corporation as one large team it is important to understand what type of team role Jeff has decided to take. According to our textbooks description of the different team roles Jeff Immelt is emulating almost to a tee, the role of the cooperator. In numerous articles of Jeff it refers to his leadership style as more of a cheerleader. Unlike many current power hungry CEO’s, Jeff has decided to help support his employees in accomplishing the team goals. In that article published by Business Week it describes Jeff’s communication style as simply showing interest in others. Jeff doesn’t even disregard the units that are currently struggling, but rather tries to support them to help accomplish their goals.
While Jeff is such a nice caring guy, he also knows the importance of productivity and discipline. If employees just can’t get things done he is not afraid to let them go and replace them. He has made sure to broadcast his message that effort is encouraged, but results are what count. Similar to the previous CEO Welch, Jeff knows the importance of delivering superb products and service. Although Jeff uses a completely different communication style then the previous successful CEO Welch, he still has been able to produce similar results. As I continue on with my posts I will discuss Immelt’s unique style of leading GE, as well as his drive for more company diversity. It will be interesting to see how Jeff’s unique style works in complete contrast to the previous CEO’s of GE. As I continue on with my post's I will progress to the present time and show what type of results Jeff has actually helped generate today for GE.
Do you think his style of coaching his employees and viewing the Corporation as one large team will continue to work? If not, what types of changes do you feel Jeff should make to his communication style?
By Jason Dangles
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_38/b3749088.htm
Since Jeff Immelt refers to the GE Corporation as one large team it is important to understand what type of team role Jeff has decided to take. According to our textbooks description of the different team roles Jeff Immelt is emulating almost to a tee, the role of the cooperator. In numerous articles of Jeff it refers to his leadership style as more of a cheerleader. Unlike many current power hungry CEO’s, Jeff has decided to help support his employees in accomplishing the team goals. In that article published by Business Week it describes Jeff’s communication style as simply showing interest in others. Jeff doesn’t even disregard the units that are currently struggling, but rather tries to support them to help accomplish their goals.
While Jeff is such a nice caring guy, he also knows the importance of productivity and discipline. If employees just can’t get things done he is not afraid to let them go and replace them. He has made sure to broadcast his message that effort is encouraged, but results are what count. Similar to the previous CEO Welch, Jeff knows the importance of delivering superb products and service. Although Jeff uses a completely different communication style then the previous successful CEO Welch, he still has been able to produce similar results. As I continue on with my posts I will discuss Immelt’s unique style of leading GE, as well as his drive for more company diversity. It will be interesting to see how Jeff’s unique style works in complete contrast to the previous CEO’s of GE. As I continue on with my post's I will progress to the present time and show what type of results Jeff has actually helped generate today for GE.
Do you think his style of coaching his employees and viewing the Corporation as one large team will continue to work? If not, what types of changes do you feel Jeff should make to his communication style?
By Jason Dangles
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_38/b3749088.htm
Saturday, March 19, 2011
The Innovation of Wegman Food Markets and the Leadership Strategy of Danny Wegman
Wegaman Food Markets, a privately-held company, has transformed from a small food store to a successful self-service food market. The innovations that were innovated by Wegman's were vaporized water spray, refrigerated food display windows, homemade candy shop, and a cafeteria lounge. In the 1970's Wegmans wanted to transform their store into a “mall in a store” concept. This concept included gift cards, floral products, and pharmaceutical departments. Along with all the innovations of Wegmans, they also provided their customers with their services for 24 hours.
Danny Wegman took over the presidency and CEO duties in 1976. When Danny took over the company began to sell their own product and offer a variety of different products to their customers. If a parent brought their children to the store and they were getting on their nerves they could simple drop them of in the child care center. Wegman's tried to make it easiest as possible on the customer to make them happy and satisfied so they would return and support their company.
The culture of Wegaman's relies on providing their people with the best products, service, incentives, and programs to maintain them as loyal employees or customers. Wegman's does a lot for the community . It started a Work-Scholarship Connection program. This program helps kids who are thinking of dropping out of school due to bullying, grades, or certain other issues. They take this kids in and give them part-time jobs and a teacher that would train them to do their job along with their school work. If the student was successful in both areas, the student would get a 5,000 scholarship to a college of their choice after graduating form high school.
Danny Wegman is the man that makes this business one of the best companies to work for according to Forbes. This is because of the leadership strategy that Danny possesses in the workplace on a daily basis. Wegman's management team is very informative and accessible to their employees. They make you feel as if you are part of a family. The management team is always visible to employees and customers, as they walk down the aisles and says hello to you and see how you are doing. Some companies have their management team in a office all day and you never have the chance of talking to them or giving any in point you might have to help the company grow and expand. Wegaman's not only allows employees to participate in meetings to discuss professional and personal issues, but it is highly encouraged that they do so. This allows the executives to get inside feedback directly from their employees to see how they are doing and could they improve their company in certain ways. Wegman's also wants to hear from their customers. There are survey forms that are sent in a newsletter or magazine articles to hear what their customers are experiencing while shopping at Wegman's.
Wegman's is a very successful company because of their CEO Danny Wegman's leadership. Danny knows that to become a success in business you must be backed by your employees, customers, and community. The skills that Danny uses to have the support of those individuals are communication, team work, and being friendly and accessible throughout the community. Danny kept the lines of communication open between himself and the people he hires and provided his service towards. He does this by allowing for feedback by customers filling out survey forms and employees being active in the meetings of the company. Team work is shown through managers, stockers, cashiers, and all others being on the floor together working as a team. Thirdly community service is shown by offering programs to children struggling in school and allowing them a chance to learn the ways of Wegman's by being part of the organization and getting help in there eduction. Wegman's is a grocery store that knows how to attract and retain customers.
Wegman's is an excellent example of how a company can innovate their ideas and become a leader in the business world. Danny Wegman was the man who made this all happen by his willingness to listen to his employees, customers, and community to help him make his business and rewarding them with a friendly environment to work at, shop at, and learn from in their lives.
Have you ever worked for a company that cares so much about their employees, customers, and community? If so, Were did you work and what made them such a success in your eyes?
http://www.wegmans.com
www.good2work.com/article/5029
Posted by: Mitchell Terry
Danny Wegman took over the presidency and CEO duties in 1976. When Danny took over the company began to sell their own product and offer a variety of different products to their customers. If a parent brought their children to the store and they were getting on their nerves they could simple drop them of in the child care center. Wegman's tried to make it easiest as possible on the customer to make them happy and satisfied so they would return and support their company.
The culture of Wegaman's relies on providing their people with the best products, service, incentives, and programs to maintain them as loyal employees or customers. Wegman's does a lot for the community . It started a Work-Scholarship Connection program. This program helps kids who are thinking of dropping out of school due to bullying, grades, or certain other issues. They take this kids in and give them part-time jobs and a teacher that would train them to do their job along with their school work. If the student was successful in both areas, the student would get a 5,000 scholarship to a college of their choice after graduating form high school.
Danny Wegman is the man that makes this business one of the best companies to work for according to Forbes. This is because of the leadership strategy that Danny possesses in the workplace on a daily basis. Wegman's management team is very informative and accessible to their employees. They make you feel as if you are part of a family. The management team is always visible to employees and customers, as they walk down the aisles and says hello to you and see how you are doing. Some companies have their management team in a office all day and you never have the chance of talking to them or giving any in point you might have to help the company grow and expand. Wegaman's not only allows employees to participate in meetings to discuss professional and personal issues, but it is highly encouraged that they do so. This allows the executives to get inside feedback directly from their employees to see how they are doing and could they improve their company in certain ways. Wegman's also wants to hear from their customers. There are survey forms that are sent in a newsletter or magazine articles to hear what their customers are experiencing while shopping at Wegman's.
Wegman's is a very successful company because of their CEO Danny Wegman's leadership. Danny knows that to become a success in business you must be backed by your employees, customers, and community. The skills that Danny uses to have the support of those individuals are communication, team work, and being friendly and accessible throughout the community. Danny kept the lines of communication open between himself and the people he hires and provided his service towards. He does this by allowing for feedback by customers filling out survey forms and employees being active in the meetings of the company. Team work is shown through managers, stockers, cashiers, and all others being on the floor together working as a team. Thirdly community service is shown by offering programs to children struggling in school and allowing them a chance to learn the ways of Wegman's by being part of the organization and getting help in there eduction. Wegman's is a grocery store that knows how to attract and retain customers.
Wegman's is an excellent example of how a company can innovate their ideas and become a leader in the business world. Danny Wegman was the man who made this all happen by his willingness to listen to his employees, customers, and community to help him make his business and rewarding them with a friendly environment to work at, shop at, and learn from in their lives.
Have you ever worked for a company that cares so much about their employees, customers, and community? If so, Were did you work and what made them such a success in your eyes?
http://www.wegmans.com
www.good2work.com/article/5029
Posted by: Mitchell Terry
Successfully Changing South Africa's Culture
Nelson Mandela’s tactical decision to change his political movement from peaceful rallies to physical conflict proved to be one of the worst, although one of the greatest decisions he ever made. I find this to be one of the worst decisions in the fact that a transformational leader should never resort to violence, which also cost Mandela over 27 years of his inspiring life in prison. His time spent in prison, however, was not wasted as his message spread across South Africa and inspirationally motivated its citizens to seek an even power distance across their country between blacks and whites. Although imprisoned, Mandela’s power still reigned across the nation and intimidated the South African government as stated by A&E television network, “A 1981 memoir by South African intelligence agent Gordon Winter described a plot by the South African government to arrange for Mandela's escape so as to shoot him during the recapture (2010).” A&E television network later declared that the plot was foiled by British Intelligence, thus ensuring Nelson Mandela’s safety. While inside of prison, Mandela sought to better himself by writing an influential autobiography titled, Long Walk to Freedom, which revealed much of his life and in essence helped him better understand himself along with his cause. During this time of self-enhancement there was an immense amount of national and international pressure from around the world demanding the release of Nelson Mandela. With mounting pressures on all sides of the South African government President Frederik Willem de Klerk announced a new life for Nelson Mandela when he ordered his release in February 1990.
After 27 years of imprisonment, I believe Nelson Mandela had a renewed urgency to share his message for the good of his people along with a newly established need for achievement as he essentially picked up further ahead than he left off. Following his release, a conscientious and empowered Nelson Mandela took a directive leadership approach by pushing for foreign nations to not reduce their pressure on the racist South African government. This was also a proactive strategic decision to not let up on the stress faced by the South African government, and provide more empowerment to anti-government activists. His momentous growth in popularity while imprisoned and push for new government reform proved their value as he was elected President of the African National Congress in 1991. I found that Nelson Mandela recognized to achieve permanent change in the nation that there would need to be a new constitution implemented. Over the next three years Nelson Mandela struggled with the South African government to negotiate a new national constitution because he knew the importance of that document for national change. He later would find out that will he receive a vast change in job enlargement and enrichment before this could be accomplished. As described by A&E television network, “Negotiation prevailed, however, and on April 27, 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections. At age 77, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the country's first black president on May 10, 1994, with de Klerk as his first deputy.” After a lifetime of oppression and struggle Nelson Mandela was now in a powerful position to erase segregation forever. It is my belief that his first order of business as President was to establish some sort of affirmative action program to help eliminate faultlines and institute procedural justice in the South African government. This affirmative action desegregation program began by employing many black South Africans in government positions, as well as utilizing the country’s most popular sport of rugby promote equality among blacks and whites. A recent movie, Invictus, also does a great job depicting Mandela motivating black South Africans to support the national rugby team which was once racially biased against black citizens. During this time of promoting equality amongst the nation’s citizens, Nelson Mandela was continuing his work on establishing a new constitution. According to the A&E television network, “In 1996, he signed into law the new South African constitution, which established a strong central government based on majority rule and guaranteed rights of minorities and freedom of expression (2010).” For three more years he would regulate and demonstrate strong social responsibility as President of South Africa before his retirement in 1999. Nelson Mandela would forever change the organizational behavior of a racist government, and help eliminate the surface level diversity in a segregated nation because of his transformational leadership.
Nelson Mandela’s life has struck the hearts of many people throughout the world as his transformational leadership approach accomplished his terminal goal of equal diversity amongst all citizens in South Africa. Nelson Mandela has experienced a great feeling of job satisfaction from changing the government’s environment and knowing the nation of South Africa’s culture is at peace. Even with these accomplishments, however, he has continued to demonstrate strong organizational citizenship behavior for his country. He has displayed this through corporate social responsibility as he promotes the equality found in South Africa around the world, and still helps the nation’s citizens by building schools along with other various charitable projects. His self-management and innovative leadership abilities may have even influenced the world’s citizens to not accept tyranny from a government as progress is seen in the Middle East and North Africa today. Nelson Mandela is a true illustration of a transformational leader because even after reaching his need of self-actualization, he still continues to give back to the world.
“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership”
-Nelson Mandela
Can you think of a transformation leader of change that has had a similar influence on people as Nelson Mandela has done? If so could you please describe why you believe this to be true? If not, do you have any predictions for who you believe may be the next transformational leader in the world?
-Zach Seibel
Works Cited:
A&E Television Networks (2011), “Nelson Mandela Biography,” (accessed March 3, 2011), [available at http://www.biography.com/articles/Nelson-Mandela-9397017]
After 27 years of imprisonment, I believe Nelson Mandela had a renewed urgency to share his message for the good of his people along with a newly established need for achievement as he essentially picked up further ahead than he left off. Following his release, a conscientious and empowered Nelson Mandela took a directive leadership approach by pushing for foreign nations to not reduce their pressure on the racist South African government. This was also a proactive strategic decision to not let up on the stress faced by the South African government, and provide more empowerment to anti-government activists. His momentous growth in popularity while imprisoned and push for new government reform proved their value as he was elected President of the African National Congress in 1991. I found that Nelson Mandela recognized to achieve permanent change in the nation that there would need to be a new constitution implemented. Over the next three years Nelson Mandela struggled with the South African government to negotiate a new national constitution because he knew the importance of that document for national change. He later would find out that will he receive a vast change in job enlargement and enrichment before this could be accomplished. As described by A&E television network, “Negotiation prevailed, however, and on April 27, 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections. At age 77, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the country's first black president on May 10, 1994, with de Klerk as his first deputy.” After a lifetime of oppression and struggle Nelson Mandela was now in a powerful position to erase segregation forever. It is my belief that his first order of business as President was to establish some sort of affirmative action program to help eliminate faultlines and institute procedural justice in the South African government. This affirmative action desegregation program began by employing many black South Africans in government positions, as well as utilizing the country’s most popular sport of rugby promote equality among blacks and whites. A recent movie, Invictus, also does a great job depicting Mandela motivating black South Africans to support the national rugby team which was once racially biased against black citizens. During this time of promoting equality amongst the nation’s citizens, Nelson Mandela was continuing his work on establishing a new constitution. According to the A&E television network, “In 1996, he signed into law the new South African constitution, which established a strong central government based on majority rule and guaranteed rights of minorities and freedom of expression (2010).” For three more years he would regulate and demonstrate strong social responsibility as President of South Africa before his retirement in 1999. Nelson Mandela would forever change the organizational behavior of a racist government, and help eliminate the surface level diversity in a segregated nation because of his transformational leadership.
Nelson Mandela’s life has struck the hearts of many people throughout the world as his transformational leadership approach accomplished his terminal goal of equal diversity amongst all citizens in South Africa. Nelson Mandela has experienced a great feeling of job satisfaction from changing the government’s environment and knowing the nation of South Africa’s culture is at peace. Even with these accomplishments, however, he has continued to demonstrate strong organizational citizenship behavior for his country. He has displayed this through corporate social responsibility as he promotes the equality found in South Africa around the world, and still helps the nation’s citizens by building schools along with other various charitable projects. His self-management and innovative leadership abilities may have even influenced the world’s citizens to not accept tyranny from a government as progress is seen in the Middle East and North Africa today. Nelson Mandela is a true illustration of a transformational leader because even after reaching his need of self-actualization, he still continues to give back to the world.
“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership”
-Nelson Mandela
Can you think of a transformation leader of change that has had a similar influence on people as Nelson Mandela has done? If so could you please describe why you believe this to be true? If not, do you have any predictions for who you believe may be the next transformational leader in the world?
-Zach Seibel
Works Cited:
A&E Television Networks (2011), “Nelson Mandela Biography,” (accessed March 3, 2011), [available at http://www.biography.com/articles/Nelson-Mandela-9397017]
Monday, March 14, 2011
Transforming the Goals of One’s Own to an Entire Nation
In the mid-1900’s South Africa, similar to the United States at the time, was a nation of racism and oppression against black citizens as alliances were established among minorities to create equal rights amongst whites and blacks in the nation. A transformational leader throughout this movement was Nelson Mandela, who during a time of tyranny employed inspirational motivation for change in a peaceful fashion for his black South African followers. He is one of the few individuals that have strived to change the organizational behavior of an entire national government. I believe that Nelson Mandela’s stable terminal values of equal rights for all amongst everyone in South Africa led to the instrumental values of directing a peaceful black movement. However, many of these followers would also need to be intrinsically motivated as well, because of the government oppression felt by most black South Africans. Mandela was actively enrolled in South Africa’s African National Congress, which an organization formed to promote equal rights for black South Africans. Mandela instituted a directive leadership role to organize petitions so that he and his inspirationally stimulated black followers would conduct rallies in a peaceful manner against the racist policies of South Africa’s government. I suppose this required a great amount trust from Nelson Mandela in his peers, as there would be potent opportunity for violence to break out between the predominantly white South African Government and the black African National Congress.
After 20 years of leading peaceful rallies, I believe that Nelson Mandela was experiencing a degree of burnout from the high level of stress he was dealt within his position as an equal rights leader based upon the few positive results he could show from his job-performance. This holds true because, with little to no change in the rights of black South Africans, an intrapersonal conflict arose in Nelson Mandela as he began to seek other methods in his resistance for change in the nation. According to A&E television network, “In 1961, Mandela, who was formerly committed to non-violent protest, began to believe that armed struggle was the only way to achieve change (2011).” He then made the tactical decision to found an armed faction of the African National Congress, which was dedicated to sabotage and guerrilla warfare tactics. This is proof that Nelson Mandela’s goal commitment for equal rights in South Africa was so important that he changed his instrumental values in order to feel positive self-efficacy. In my opinion this change from peaceful coalition political rally tactics to physical struggle would prove to be one of the worst, although one of the greatest decisions Nelson Mandela had ever made in which I will discuss this in my next blog post. Shortly after this strategic alliance was implemented, a three day workers strike was led by Mandela. One year later he was then arrested for organizing the movement and was sentenced to five years in prison for the strike. Two years after his imprisonment, Mandela and several of his followers were brought to trial where they received the ruling of life imprisonment for their political offenses. Although imprisoned, Nelson Mandela’s pursuit of equal rights and legend of influential leadership built a degree of self-esteem in black South Africans which would forever change the nation.
Nelson Mandela is a recognizable name all around the world for his accomplishments as proven in the first half of my two part blog postings related to his transformational leadership abilities. He has demonstrated transformational leadership in South Africa because he has taken his terminal values, set goals for the nation based on those principles, and aligned them with followers. It is evident that Mandela has utilized all different aspects of his leadership ability to effectively motivate and influence his followers in order to change the culture of an entire nation. Nelson Mandela’s rise to power in the nation of South Africa is also a testament to organizing his coalition tactics, or a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others. He was able to organize groups of followers, who of which influenced others, by utilizing his charisma, creativity, and building trust. It is for these reasons that Nelson Mandela is a Nobel-Peace Prize Winner and transformational leader across the globe.
Do you believe that Nelson Mandela could have avoided the actions guerrilla warfare and sabotage? If so, what are some alternatives he should have taken before making the tactical decision of violence in order to efficiently, and effectively lead the African National Congress’ goal of establishing equal rights among all citizens of South Africa?
-Zach Seibel
Works Cited:
A&E Television Networks (2011), “Nelson Mandela Biography,” (accessed March 3, 2011), [available at http://www.biography.com/articles/Nelson-Mandela-9397017
After 20 years of leading peaceful rallies, I believe that Nelson Mandela was experiencing a degree of burnout from the high level of stress he was dealt within his position as an equal rights leader based upon the few positive results he could show from his job-performance. This holds true because, with little to no change in the rights of black South Africans, an intrapersonal conflict arose in Nelson Mandela as he began to seek other methods in his resistance for change in the nation. According to A&E television network, “In 1961, Mandela, who was formerly committed to non-violent protest, began to believe that armed struggle was the only way to achieve change (2011).” He then made the tactical decision to found an armed faction of the African National Congress, which was dedicated to sabotage and guerrilla warfare tactics. This is proof that Nelson Mandela’s goal commitment for equal rights in South Africa was so important that he changed his instrumental values in order to feel positive self-efficacy. In my opinion this change from peaceful coalition political rally tactics to physical struggle would prove to be one of the worst, although one of the greatest decisions Nelson Mandela had ever made in which I will discuss this in my next blog post. Shortly after this strategic alliance was implemented, a three day workers strike was led by Mandela. One year later he was then arrested for organizing the movement and was sentenced to five years in prison for the strike. Two years after his imprisonment, Mandela and several of his followers were brought to trial where they received the ruling of life imprisonment for their political offenses. Although imprisoned, Nelson Mandela’s pursuit of equal rights and legend of influential leadership built a degree of self-esteem in black South Africans which would forever change the nation.
Nelson Mandela is a recognizable name all around the world for his accomplishments as proven in the first half of my two part blog postings related to his transformational leadership abilities. He has demonstrated transformational leadership in South Africa because he has taken his terminal values, set goals for the nation based on those principles, and aligned them with followers. It is evident that Mandela has utilized all different aspects of his leadership ability to effectively motivate and influence his followers in order to change the culture of an entire nation. Nelson Mandela’s rise to power in the nation of South Africa is also a testament to organizing his coalition tactics, or a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others. He was able to organize groups of followers, who of which influenced others, by utilizing his charisma, creativity, and building trust. It is for these reasons that Nelson Mandela is a Nobel-Peace Prize Winner and transformational leader across the globe.
Do you believe that Nelson Mandela could have avoided the actions guerrilla warfare and sabotage? If so, what are some alternatives he should have taken before making the tactical decision of violence in order to efficiently, and effectively lead the African National Congress’ goal of establishing equal rights among all citizens of South Africa?
-Zach Seibel
Works Cited:
A&E Television Networks (2011), “Nelson Mandela Biography,” (accessed March 3, 2011), [available at http://www.biography.com/articles/Nelson-Mandela-9397017
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Outlandish Rewards: a Two Sided Coin
What would happen if Jim Goodnight's philosophy was applied to multiple industries? HR departments would be flooded with applications as flocks of people attempt to capitalize on the opportunity. This provides several positive effects. Employers will theoretically have a more diverse potential employment pool than before. The promise of extraordinary benefits is likely to attract highly skilled professionals and people of every race, gender, age, and sexual preference. By adding diversity to the workforce, companies would see concrete benefits such as higher creativity, improved customer service, lower litigation expenses, and a more satisfied workforce overall. Ideally, each company would experience varying levels of the “SAS effect.” This can be categorized as attaining low absenteeism and turnover, high workforce morale and satisfaction, unprecedented creativity and freedom of expression, and financial success as a result of putting employees first. Employees at SAS tend to have more positive work attitudes. Coworkers display high levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. People are happy to go to work and have a strong emotional connection to the company. Due to this bond, employees across the company volunteer more time to organizing social events (as if there were not enough “distractions” at SAS to begin with!). As made clearly evident, the business world has much to gain by learning from Jim Goodnight.
However, there are always two sides to each coin. While the business community could benefit from SAS’s policies, we have to consider the generalizability of this situation. It is also possible that offering such benefits could bring potentially negative effects. Leaders cannot simply offer un-worldly perks and expect productivity to jump immediately. The promise of these perks will obviously attract the attention of sub-par applicants. This goes beyond simply under qualified candidates, which can be expected at every company. No, these perks will serve as bait to a different class of applicants. Underachievers, freeloaders, procrastinators, con artists, and irresponsible workers will come to the negotiating table in the hopes of securing a golden ticket. Employers would need to take extra care when screening applicants. If one happened to make it through, employers would need to deal with the litigation of removing an employee who only has personal intentions in mind. When applied to every industry, this could create very costly mistakes and waste precious time. After considering these facts, it is clear to see that Jim has done a fantastic job managing his company. Jim Goodnight wants to reward legitimate employees who care about the company and want to make an impact by contributing quality work. He has eliminated the problems associated with employees who are only “in it” for the money and the perks. He has also moved past mitigation of losses due to this issue. He has managed SAS efficiently and effectively all while remaining profitable. This is another reason why Jim Goodnight truly is a great example of an impact player in the world of organizational behavior.
Regards,
Jarek Palmer (BBB)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Indra Nooyi Stressing Health And The Environment
One CEO that seems to float under the radar when it comes to the immense impact she has had both on her organization as a whole, as well as her employees is Indra Nooyi. Although many people may not be too familiar with Indra, almost everyone has heard of PepsiCo, the company she is in charge of leading. What sets Indra apart from most other CEO’s of fortune 500 companies is the fact that she is only one of thirteen women and one in six Asians in control of a fortune 500 company. She has been noted by Forbes as number 5 in “Most Influential Women in the World” (2007), number 1 by Forbes in “50 Most Powerful Women,” and number 22 in Fortune’s “25 Most Powerful People in Business.” In the upcoming blog I will discuss how Indra has become so successful particularly looking at what sets her apart from other CEO’s of fortune 500 companies.
Indra Nooyi has always had a clear organization vision of where she wanted PepsiCo to be. This vision concentrated on two main ideas, improving the nutritional status of the products and making PepsiCo an environmentally sustainable company. Indra realizes the importance of an organization to stress corporate social responsibility and take blame for their actions. Nooyi realizes the severe obesity epidemic in the United States and attempts to help defeat it by offering alternative healthier products. In addition to her emphasis on corporate social responsibility, she also stresses the idea of the triple bottom line theory. Instead of just concentrating on the economic revenues gained from the company, Indra attempts to look at environmental issues regarding her products as well. Indra knows the importance of the different social and environmental aspects that go beyond just the conventional economic influences. While some have criticized Indra Nooyi for being too preoccupied on long-term benefits with disregard to short-term issues, she has still managed to help increase companies profits while using this triple line type approach.
The first way in which she helped improve the nutritional status of the company’s products was by acquiring Quaker Oats and juice maker Tropicana. By buying out some of the competitors she not only helped reduce competition of potential PepsiCo products, but also gained a valuable healthier product line. Indra also made sure to reduce all of PepsiCo’s high sugar, high calorie beverages with healthier alternatives. One major alternative line she offered was the “refresh everything” campaign which offered a product line consisting of all-natural ingredients. In addition to offering this healthy product line, she also re-emphasized the launch of the Propel fitness drink Propel to consumers. Even from the very start Indra was determined to help offer consumers healthier products, which was evident when she was one of the first in the industry to cut all Trans fats from PepsiCo’s products.
Nooyi’s success has also been a result of her environmentally friendly outlook. While some companies tend to overlook this aspect of business in order to save money, Indra knew the importance in the long run to concentrate on an environmentally friendly product line. One particular area that she concentrated on was reducing plastic used on the different products packaging. She also looked for more biodegradable packaging for products in efforts to reduce hazardous effects caused from products packaging on the environment.
The last area that I would like to discuss today about Indra Nooyi is the way she treats her employees. Nooyi has always been known for holding extremely high standards from her employees and expects nothing less than perfection. She stresses the importance of finding solutions to all possible questions and pushes her employees extremely hard. As we discussed in class, one motivational technique that is apparent Nooyi uses is the reinforcement theory. In particular, Nooyi has explained that she is not afraid to punish her employees or provide them with negative feedback when they screw up. Nooyi is not afraid to help use punishment as a motivational tool to help make employees do their job and do it right the first time.
Another thing that I found quite interesting from the article was the fact that after she beat out her competitor for the main CEO position she made sure to give him a pay raise as well as made sure he received a much larger role in decision making in the company. Although she offered him a pay raise, which could be considered a hygiene factor, she also made sure to still give him more influence in the company which probably spurred motivation and increased job satisfaction. The hygiene factor of an increase in pay still managed to help avoid making this employee dissatisfied, but it was the increase in work responsibility that most likely helped increase his overall job satisfaction and helped motivate him.
After discussing some of the key visions of Indra Nooyi it is not hard to see why she has been as successful as she has. Her leadership role as CEO of PepsiCo has helped spur profits as well as stressed new areas of corporate social responsibility. She not only understands the benefits of implementing a triple bottom line strategy, but also realizes the importance of concentrating on the long-term vision of the corporation.
Do you agree with the heavy importance Indra Nooyi is stressing regarding implementing environmentally friendly products and healthy alternatives to consumers?
Have you noticed any other recent changes in PepsiCo products that are reflected from an environmental/healthy influence?
Do you feel that Indra Nooyi should pay more attention to the possible short-term outcomes/problems of concentrating so much of the company’s time and money on environmentally friendly and healthy product lines?
http://www.minyanville.com/special-features/articles/influential-ceos-pepsi-indra-nooyi-indian/5/28/2010/id/28099
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/11/power-women-09_Indra-Nooyi_1S5D.html
Written by: Jason Dangles
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A Transformational Leader
Our spotlight on Jim Goodnight continues as we discuss another facet of his management style. Based on his words and actions, I believe Mr. Goodnight has elevated himself to a distinct category of management. He has become a transformational leader. Jim has gone from merely compensating his employees to lavishly rewarding them. He has moved beyond simply encouraging employees to empowering them. In essence, he is helping his employees satisfy their upper level needs. He has addressed the employees' physiological needs by paying them competitive strategies. Safety needs have been met through the various helthcare programs. Social needs are met every day by the wide variety of perks that offer employees a chance to socialize at work.
Esteem needs are even taken care of when Goodnight endlessly praises his workers during interviews and during his personal interactions with employees. Jim Goodnight has even started to address the self-actualization needs of his employees. Every designer has her/his own office. This distinction answers esteem issues, but also contributes to self-actualization. This privacy offers the employee freedom and provides the environment that will be most productive for each individual. Educational programs and tuition reimbursements satisfy needs for growth. When Goodnight tackles Maslow's hierarchy of needs in such an aggressive manner, it is no wonder why employees genuinely love working at SAS.
A transformational leader is marked by four main characteristcs. They posses charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. While Jim may not be the most entertaining or enthralling speaker, he commands attention from his employees and they are more than happy to surrender it. His employees are confident in their leader's abilities and vision for the future. After hearing hi speak in iterviews or during Q&A forums held at SAS, the employees are committed to Jim, just as he is committed to them. Jim displays inspirational motivation primarily when he speaks about his vision. He has always talked about creating a software development company that is distinguishable from the others in the indutry. He sees opportunities where other managers have abandoned efforts and makes a convincing argument to act upon the unknown.
Intellectual stimulation is easily the behavioral characteristic that Mr. Goodnight most clearly displays. He has challenged the status quo of the entire industry and the general business model of profit. He has payed large sums of money to his employees through salaries and benefits. He has offered unrivaled perk packages and miraculously remains profitable. He provides the ultimate environment that contributes directly to employee creativity and morale. Employees are empowered and choose to work harder because they love going to work. They are challenged by the work and embrace the task with enthusiasm.
The last piece of the puzzle is individualized compensation. Jim cares about each of his employees and does not view them as numbers on a payroll. He provides more than adequate rewards for those who work hard. The following quote was pulled from an interview with him:
As you can see, Jim Goodnight is no longer a manager; he is a leader. He has become a transformational leader not only because of what he has accomplished, but also becuase of the way he behaves. Mr. Goodnight has successfully aligned the agendas and goals of his employees with those of the company and they are truly committed to him. He has achieved great success without impairing any shareholders in the process. He manages to do all of these things while motivating and encouraging his workforce. This truly is an exceptional leader who leads by example.
Regards,
Jarek Palmer
Big Bang Bloggers (BBB)
"Innovation is the key to success in this business, and creativity fuels innovation," Goodnight said. "Creativity is especially important to SAS because software is a product of the mind. As such, 95 percent of my assets drive out the gate every evening. It's my job to maintain a work environment that keeps those people coming back every morning. The creativity they bring to SAS is a competitive advantage for us."
Esteem needs are even taken care of when Goodnight endlessly praises his workers during interviews and during his personal interactions with employees. Jim Goodnight has even started to address the self-actualization needs of his employees. Every designer has her/his own office. This distinction answers esteem issues, but also contributes to self-actualization. This privacy offers the employee freedom and provides the environment that will be most productive for each individual. Educational programs and tuition reimbursements satisfy needs for growth. When Goodnight tackles Maslow's hierarchy of needs in such an aggressive manner, it is no wonder why employees genuinely love working at SAS.
A transformational leader is marked by four main characteristcs. They posses charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. While Jim may not be the most entertaining or enthralling speaker, he commands attention from his employees and they are more than happy to surrender it. His employees are confident in their leader's abilities and vision for the future. After hearing hi speak in iterviews or during Q&A forums held at SAS, the employees are committed to Jim, just as he is committed to them. Jim displays inspirational motivation primarily when he speaks about his vision. He has always talked about creating a software development company that is distinguishable from the others in the indutry. He sees opportunities where other managers have abandoned efforts and makes a convincing argument to act upon the unknown.
Intellectual stimulation is easily the behavioral characteristic that Mr. Goodnight most clearly displays. He has challenged the status quo of the entire industry and the general business model of profit. He has payed large sums of money to his employees through salaries and benefits. He has offered unrivaled perk packages and miraculously remains profitable. He provides the ultimate environment that contributes directly to employee creativity and morale. Employees are empowered and choose to work harder because they love going to work. They are challenged by the work and embrace the task with enthusiasm.
The last piece of the puzzle is individualized compensation. Jim cares about each of his employees and does not view them as numbers on a payroll. He provides more than adequate rewards for those who work hard. The following quote was pulled from an interview with him:
As you can see, Jim Goodnight is no longer a manager; he is a leader. He has become a transformational leader not only because of what he has accomplished, but also becuase of the way he behaves. Mr. Goodnight has successfully aligned the agendas and goals of his employees with those of the company and they are truly committed to him. He has achieved great success without impairing any shareholders in the process. He manages to do all of these things while motivating and encouraging his workforce. This truly is an exceptional leader who leads by example.
Regards,
Jarek Palmer
Big Bang Bloggers (BBB)
"Innovation is the key to success in this business, and creativity fuels innovation," Goodnight said. "Creativity is especially important to SAS because software is a product of the mind. As such, 95 percent of my assets drive out the gate every evening. It's my job to maintain a work environment that keeps those people coming back every morning. The creativity they bring to SAS is a competitive advantage for us."
Friday, February 18, 2011
Management for the Future
The idea of management in nowadays can often be inferred as vague and misrepresented for various reasons with the ruptured economy being the overarching reason. The term bureaucracy and/or bureaucrat tends to carry negative meaning whenever used and is inferred with negative attitudes along with thoughts of corruption and scandal. This was not necessarily the fundamental definition of the word; a bureaucrat is simply a nonelective government official and bureaucracy in itself is merely a bureau of a government division or department. This relates to the another misinterpreted and largely negative term, "revolving door," in which politics and undermining intentions are thought of where profits and greed are seemingly the only reason that this term was coined.
In today's day and age where corruption and scandal run rampant, a new type of management is emerging from the fire and brimstone. In hopes of minimizing the variance and ambiguity associated with organizational practices, management has the reputation for what can be interpreted as adhering to policy. This form of management is becoming more and more obsolete and this is especially because citizens and consumers are losing trust in management within organizations in general. The rhetoric that is found in this old style of leadership is simply not enough nowadays and if a manager is thought of as a leader, should they not have the opportunity to do simply that? If managers are thought of as leaders, they should be able to use their own intuition and ideas to make their organization better for the entirety and not just for the boss in the next rung above themselves.
The management strategy of the past is no longer enough for the high expectations of consumers who are looking for what organizations have been trying to deliver since day one...value! The fact that managers undergo rigorous training and practice means that they should be able to make decisions with their own mind through the use of innovation and common sense, just to be blunt. The idea of trust and accountability is becoming much more relevant to today's organizations where transparency is a must and thinking outside the box is something much needed in order to protect those involved in the "in" group. Leaders need to be able to use their own ideas for the better of the entire organizations and adapt new ways of thinking in order to gain a competitive edge. Management needs to create new ways of thinking and sculpt their actual intentions around creating a better organization. This task for management in the years to come is paramount to a better society and economy and may even involve acting first and asking later, but if this is what it takes to make the organization better, more power to management.
A much more thorough and formal structure for managing organizations in the years to come can be found at the Wall Street Journal website under the following link:
http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2011/02/17/inventing-management-20/
Posted by: Mike Magaruh
In today's day and age where corruption and scandal run rampant, a new type of management is emerging from the fire and brimstone. In hopes of minimizing the variance and ambiguity associated with organizational practices, management has the reputation for what can be interpreted as adhering to policy. This form of management is becoming more and more obsolete and this is especially because citizens and consumers are losing trust in management within organizations in general. The rhetoric that is found in this old style of leadership is simply not enough nowadays and if a manager is thought of as a leader, should they not have the opportunity to do simply that? If managers are thought of as leaders, they should be able to use their own intuition and ideas to make their organization better for the entirety and not just for the boss in the next rung above themselves.
The management strategy of the past is no longer enough for the high expectations of consumers who are looking for what organizations have been trying to deliver since day one...value! The fact that managers undergo rigorous training and practice means that they should be able to make decisions with their own mind through the use of innovation and common sense, just to be blunt. The idea of trust and accountability is becoming much more relevant to today's organizations where transparency is a must and thinking outside the box is something much needed in order to protect those involved in the "in" group. Leaders need to be able to use their own ideas for the better of the entire organizations and adapt new ways of thinking in order to gain a competitive edge. Management needs to create new ways of thinking and sculpt their actual intentions around creating a better organization. This task for management in the years to come is paramount to a better society and economy and may even involve acting first and asking later, but if this is what it takes to make the organization better, more power to management.
A much more thorough and formal structure for managing organizations in the years to come can be found at the Wall Street Journal website under the following link:
http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2011/02/17/inventing-management-20/
Posted by: Mike Magaruh
Reaching the Pinnacle of Success and Lending a Helping Hand to Society
A leader in corporate and product innovation, Microsoft essentially helped pave the way for computer technology on a global scale. The founder of the company is the current Chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates, who is recognized by many for his ingenious mind and as one of the wealthiest people in the world. Bill Gates is a Harvard dropout who left college because he wanted to concentrate more of his efforts to his business of Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen. Bill Gates made this drastic life change, which he obviously benefited from, because he had the vision to see computers as being a valuable asset for future society. Gates was then able to translate this vision into his company of Microsoft by implementing dynamic organizational behavior and strategy. This corporate strategy and objectives have obviously has been working as Microsoft reported net revenue of 19.95 billion dollars at the end of the last quarter. The decision to drop out of college has proven to a success as Gates and Paul Allen established a solid organizational structure for the company’s objectives and behavior.
Microsoft’s mission under the influential leadership of Bill Gates has been to advance and improve software technology by making it easier, more cost-effective and enjoyable for people to use computers. Over the years Microsoft has been able to achieve many organizational strategies because of the development of innovative products by following the listed organizational objectives which were established by Bill Gates. Many of the objectives and strategies, along with issues he faced while trying to meet these goals at Microsoft are discussed in his book titled “Business @ the Speed of Thought.” The company has also differentiated itself since the early days of selling BASIC and MS-DOS computer systems as Microsoft products can be found in several different areas of the technology sector. Gates decided there would be consumer demand for products outside of computers, so Microsoft then launched its browser Internet Explorer, video game system X-BOX, along with software such as Microsoft Office or Windows Vista. As Microsoft diversified its product base, Gates then centralized himself at the top of the company and implemented a tall structure organizational structure. Below him separate departments, such as X-BOX or Windows Vista, work hand in hand with one another in order to meet the customer satisfactions criteria established by Bill Gates. Microsoft employees are expected to have the general mental ability for the job they are assigned, dress to company code, and interact amongst each other accordingly. In Microsoft employees are encouraged to openly discuss ideas with managers whom transfer the information up the tall structure chain before thoughts are turned into products. This system has proven to work as employees feel motivated to openly discuss ideas, because they are typically rewarded extrinsically with stock options and other benefit packages. Bill Gates has found exponential success for his company by establishing a solid organizational structure, and allowing employees to coordinate ideas amongst one another as guided by his overall company mission.
Bill Gates has found great success to come with vast responsibility as he has up and quit his job as Microsoft CEO to commit to his foundation full-time. However, he is still a great part of the company as he holds the high ranking title of Chairman and Chief Software Architect, although he has found a greater calling in his foundation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is geared towards helping all people lead healthy, productive lives with the belief that every life has equal value. You can read more information about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/Pages/foundation-fact-sheet.aspx. Billions of dollars have been donated to the foundation from various sources, influential leaders such as Warren Buffet, and Bill Gates. Bill Gates has even vowed to donate a great majority of his savings to foundations, while leaving some money for his family. This demonstration of social responsibility only speaks volumes about the company that he has run for over thirty years. The organizational behavior and corporate social responsibility of Microsoft is only on par with the leader who dropped out of college to create the vision for a company which continues to innovate in a highly competitive field. In a time which CEO’s seek immense power through corrupt behavior in recent scandals, such as AIG or even Enron, Bills Gates has demonstrated there are still influential and ethical leaders in the business world.
-Zach Seibel
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